Pain and Protection
by BenXGwen Lightning Warrior
Summary: After the events of "Ben 10 Returns: Part Two", Ben is heartbroken and receives help from an unexpected source. He goes to Gwen and finds Kevin there. Will Ben win, or will Kevin take Gwen, his life, away forever? (One-Shot)


Pain and Protection

Ben groaned as he trudged back into his house after a day of fighting strange creatures and looked for an MIA Grandpa Max. Ben tried not to worry about his Grandpa. The man faced down Vilgax multiple times without breaking a sweat. How bad could these "Highbreed" be in comparison? He was glad it was Saturday in the morning. That meant he could sleep in without the fear of being late for school. As Ben took a shower and toweled off, his mind drifted to Gwen. She'd only grown stronger over the years, and she proved it tonight when she took out a contingent of Forever Knights all by her lonesome. Then, Ben turned his mind to Kevin and felt his stomach twist violently. Kevin was able to fool Gwen into thinking he'd changed, and worse yet, Gwen completely lost her senses and started falling for the monster! As Ben walked to his bed, the teen thought of all the Hell they went through on that first summer. The times they'd saved each other repeatedly and the times the same Kevin that tried to help them tonight tried to kill innocent people for a stupid payout. Then, there was the time Ben had to give up the Omnitrix or Kevin would squeeze the life out of Gwen at VILGAX's orders no less! As Ben put his ear buds in to send him to sleep, a song came on that Ben usually loved: "All the Things She Said" by t. A. T. u. This time, the song brought tears of heartache with its melody and lyrics. "Gwen," Ben said in what he thought was a whisper because of the ear buds. "I love you."

Sandra and Carl noticed Ben's exhausted state when he walked in. Carl thought it was the rigors of being back in the game after so many years, but Sandra could see the pain in Ben's eyes as he went up to his room. "Carl, I'm going to go check on Ben." The blonde told her husband as she walked down the hallway toward Ben's room. The woman was almost to Ben's door when she heard, "Gwen, I love you." The statement should have shocked Sandra, but she knew Ben had been trying to ignore a crush on his cousin for some time now. She chose to brave it and knocked on the door. "Go away!" Ben growled. The pain was even more evident now that Ben spoke. Sandra could tell he had been crying by his voice. "Ben, you need to talk about this." Sandra said gently through the door. Sandra was surprised when the door opened for her. Sandra walked in and sat down on Ben's bed next to him.

"Gwen…I'm losing Gwen again, and I can't take it." Sandra blinked in confusion. "Again?" She asked quietly. Ben sighed. "About a week before we came back from the first road trip, Doctor Animo set off a DNA Bomb as part of his latest scheme to take over the world. It scrambled the Omnitrix and set off the Watch's Self-Destruct Mode." Ben shivered as the memories came back fresh. "I…ignored it and kept passing the buck for the Omnitrix's malfunction to different people. Then, on Xenon the home of the Omnitrix's designer, Gwen was eaten by sentient plants called Florauna. My Universe died with her. When she came back, I was so happy. I kissed her." Ben told Sandra as blush grew on his face. Then, it darkened again. "Now, she's gunning for this guy named Kevin who tried to kill us on multiple occasions!" Sandra covered her mouth. Then, she growled, Natalie…" Ben blinked and looked at his mother at the mention of his aunt. "She's always been like a boa for Gwen." Sandra explained. "My advice?" Sandra said as she put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Go to Gwen and tell her how you feel." Ben nodded with a smile and ran off to find Gwen.

At Gwen's house, Natalie was grinning like she just won the lottery. The woman thought her daughter was going to obsess over Ben until they ran away together, but now, she saw hope as a young man with black hair and a mechanic's hands. "He seems good for Gwen." The woman mumbled to herself as the boy and Gwen sat down for supper. "Who's this, Gwen?" Natalie asked with a grin. "This is Kevin Levin, Mom." Kevin rolled his eyes. _This whole routine?_ Kevin thought. _I almost miss beating Benji to a pulp._ Heavy knocking brought everyone's attention to the front door. "Gwen, we need to talk." Ben said through the door. Gwen opened her mouth to answer but was silenced as Natalie clamped a hand over Gwen's mouth. "You won't mess this up for me." Gwen's eyes went wide as it hit her. Her Mom set the meeting with Kevin up! When Ben didn't get an answer, he kicked in the door. "I'm impressed, Benji. You figured it out." Ben sighed. "I should have ended you back when we were ten." Ben said darkly as he started to sing "Headstrong" by Trapt and stood between Gwen and Kevin. Kevin took on his more familiar mutated form and made Natalie scream.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "I'm suddenly not so bad, huh?" He quipped as Ben closed his eyes and felt a locked part of him come to the surface. "Ben?!" Gwen asked in shock as Ben changed into a form similar the Wolf from their adventure in the Navajo village. "I found out a few years ago. I'm not human." Ben said to Gwen as he kept his eyes locked on Kevin. "Your move, Frankenstein's Monster." Ben said as he crouched. Kevin chuckled. "This will be fun." They charged each other and clashed over and over again. Gwen watched Ben fight with skill that was surprisingly masterful. "Gwen, feel free to jump in anytime!" Ben growled as he threw Kevin into the wall. Gwen smiled and punched her Mom. "It's for your own good." Gwen said mockingly with a glare. "Energion Syphos!" Gwen growled. Her hands glowed blue and Kevin was surrounded in a blue halo as he began to shrink. "Don't. Touch. Ben." Gwen growled as she poured more energy into the spell until Kevin screamed. "Not so fun being on the other side. Is it, Kevin?"Gwen growled before she dropped the spell. Kevin crashed to the floor, weak and scared shitless.

"I really hated that guy." Gwen growled. "Ben, are you alright?" Gwen asked as she knelt to check on him. Ben breathed heavily and smiled at Gwen. "A little winded, but I'll be alright." He said with a smile. _Especially now that I know cozying up to the scumbag was just an act._ Ben thought as relief swept over him. "Gwen, before your mom wakes up and separates us forever, I have to tell you something." Gwen's eyes lit up as Ben resumed his disguise. "I love you, Dweeb." Ben leaned in to kiss Gwen, but Gwen stopped him with her hand. "Ben, I want the real you, not the cover." Ben smiled and granted Gwen's request before they kissed away years of shared pain.

 **Please Read and Review. This is inspired by the Bwen video to the song "All the Things She Said" by T. a.t U..**


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